Religion: Vibrant youth group enlivens church Vibrant youth group enlivens church

Visitors to Christian Fellowship Center in New Bedford might feel like they've walked into a live concert on Friday nights. The room lights are down low, fog wafts from a machine, and stage lighting changes with the tempo of the music. Lyrics of the songs appear on a screen above the musicians and vocalists.

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By DEBRA RYAN

southcoasttoday.com

By DEBRA RYAN

Posted Jul. 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By DEBRA RYAN

Posted Jul. 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM

More about the church

Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church St., New Bedford, is part of the Assemblies of God denomination. Rev. Kenn Bongiorno has been the pastor since May 2000.Sunday morning services are held ...

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More about the church

Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church St., New Bedford, is part of the Assemblies of God denomination. Rev. Kenn Bongiorno has been the pastor since May 2000.

Sunday morning services are held at 9 and 11 a.m. There are children's church classes for all ages from nursery up through sixth grade in the children's ministry center on the first floor, as well as a nursery for children 3 and younger.

Wednesday night is family night at the church. Beginning at 7 p.m. there is a Christian Scouting program called Royal Rangers for boys ages 3 to 12, as well as Girls' Ministries for ages 3 to 17. The adults meet in the sanctuary for worship, prayer and Bible study.

Fridays Youth Revolution Church, a ministry to teenagers and young adults is held every Friday night from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

A young adults group will be starting on July 27, and will meet at 6:30 p.m. Sundays.

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Visitors to Christian Fellowship Center in New Bedford might feel like they've walked into a live concert on Friday nights. The room lights are down low, fog wafts from a machine, and stage lighting changes with the tempo of the music. Lyrics of the songs appear on a screen above the musicians and vocalists.

What could pass as a stage production is actually the Revolution Church Youth Group worship team. The songs are about Jesus, and nearly 100 teenagers in the hall are singing, clapping and moving to the music. Although it looks like a performance, three teens — Jentelle Rioux, Madison Galarza and Stephanie Teixeira — are leading their peers in worship, along with the guitar players, a drummer and a keyboard player. There are teens running the lights and sound from a balcony at the rear of the church.

Youth Director Rob Dubois is proud of the group of kids, ranging from seventh to 12th graders, who he says "could be out at the mall or out doing other things, but they choose to be here.

"Each Friday the evening begins with worship by a live band, the Revolution Church Worship Team, comprised of members of the youth group. That is followed by prayer time and Bible teaching," Dubois said.

"Every other Friday night, after youth group, the ladies in the church hold what we call the Last Chance Cafe. They have hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, fries and snacks," he said. "Kids stick around to play basketball or just hang out.

"We have various games and hold different events for them to participate in. We have a very busy and active youth ministry," Dubois said.

He added that teens who have been invited by their friends kids call it "amazing and awesome" and say they "didn't know church youth group could be so much fun.

"There was a survey done recently that named New Bedford and Providence the least Bible-minded cities in the country," he said. "We decided that as a youth ministry, we are going to help change that. We want to impact the city with the Gospel and offer hope to those who need it."

Dubois explained that "Every year our youth group attends a huge conference in Rhode Island for area teens and young adults. This year, they decided we are getting big enough to hold our own conference."

The church and its youth group will host "Revolution Conference 2014" from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 17 and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 18, with three sessions. Featured conference speakers will be Dubois, Andrew Colon and Heath McCoy. Worship will be led by Revolution Worship and Conquerors For Christ Worship. There will be a concert on Saturday afternoon featuring Beyond Musik and Colton Simmons.

"They are taking it to the streets, bringing the Gospel message outside of the four walls of the church community," Dubois said.

"The conference team consists of 15 teenagers and youth leaders. The kids have been doing everything from designing the posters, to creating a promotional video."

A former member of the youth group, Marc Cabral, now assists Dubois as a youth leader. "This event is going to be amazing. The kids have been working very hard," he said about the upcoming conference. "We want to see kids lives changed."

Idalis Hernandez, 14, has been attending the youth group for three years. "Youth group is life-changing and fun. You always feel like you are loved by somebody here," she said. "I want to tell more people about it, I want them to feel the same joy and happiness that youth group brings to me.

She continued, "The conference is going to be a big success. A lot of people will be saved (receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior) and be touched by it."

Fifteen-year-old Liandra Fagundes said of the youth group, "This is a place where you can come and get away from your problems and then get help.

"I am looking forward to the conference," she said. "People our age are out there doing bad things. We want to help, not judge. Hopefully if they are doing things like smoking and drinking, they will see that there are good things they can do and they can feel better about themselves."

Laura Bongiorno, daughter of Pastor Kenn Bongiorno and his wife Grace, remembers when the youth group used to meet in the basement of their home. Her older brother Samuel is part of the group's worship team and younger brother, Fred, helps with the sound.

"I have seen all kinds of youth pastors come through, and they've all brought something to the youth group," she said. "Rob has seen the vision of how we can expand and grow.

"I'm very excited about the conference. I remember going to the others and thinking to myself that we could pull it off," Bongiorno said. "Now it's only three months away!"

Senior Pastor Bongiorno said, "God is revealing Himself to our young people and they are finding purpose in life as they grow in a relationship with the living Jesus. The conference's purpose is to strengthen those who already encountered the living Jesus and make known Jesus to those who have yet to experience Him.

"The vision for this youth conference grows out of the hearts of the youth," he said. "They, under the leadership of Rob Dubois, are organizing and funding this life-transforming event. I'm so proud of how our young people are hearing and obeying the voice of God."

Tickets to the event are $28, with early-bird tickets purchased before Aug. 1 costing $25. The group rate for 10 or more tickets is $23 each. Conference wristbands will be held at conference site and picked up when attendees arrive. There is a 400-seat limit.

For more information call (508) 995-9996 or visit revolution-church.org